title: 'Born in Michigan? You're in the biobank': engaging population biobank participants through Facebook advertisements.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Despite a broad call for biobanks to use social media, data is lacking regarding the capacity of social media tools, especially advertising, to engage large populations on this topic.
  
  
  METHODS
  We used Facebook advertising to engage Michigan residents about the BioTrust for Health. We conducted a low-budget (<USD 5,000), 26-day social media campaign targeting Michigan residents aged 18-28. We placed 25 Facebook advertisements and analyzed their performance in terms of reach and cost across 3 engagement types: passive, active and interactive. We compared engagement before, during and after the campaign.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The Facebook page was viewed 1,249 times during the month of the advertising campaign, versus once in the month prior. 779,004 Michigan residents saw ads an average of 25.8 times; 4,275 clicked ads; the average click-through-ratio was 0.021%. Interactions included 516 'likes' and 30 photo contest entries. Cost per outcome ranged from <USD 0.005 per exposure to USD 182 per photo entry. The average cost per click was USD 1.04.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  A social media strategy to build public awareness about biobanking is not likely to be effective without a promotional 'push' to distribute content. Social media advertisements have the capacity to scale-up engagement on biobanking while keeping costs manageable. Facebook advertisements provide necessary access points for unaware participants, with implications for public trust.
authors.affiliation: Life Sciences and Society Program, Department of Health Management and Policy, University of Michigan School of Public Health, Ann Arbor, Mich 48109-2029, USA. jeplatt@umich.edu
authors.forename: J E
authors.initials: JE
authors.lastname: Platt
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Platt
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Thiel
authors.forename: S L R
authors.initials: SL
authors.lastname: Kardia
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000329:Advertising / Q000191:economics / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D018070:Biological Specimen Banks / Q000191:economics; D003256:Community Participation / Q000191:economics / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008824:Michigan; D061108:Social Media / Q000191:economics / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D055815:Young Adult